California-based Peet’s Coffee & Tea is acquiring Stumptown Coffee Roasters, an Oregon specialty coffee company known for its innovative nitro cold-brew coffee process.
Stumptown logo
The acquisition, announced Oct. 6, brings Stumptown under the umbrella of multiple coffee brands owned by JAB Holdings Company, a Luxembourg investment group that also maintains majority stakes in Jacobs Douwe Egberts and Caribou Coffee Company. JAB’s brands, owned by the Reimann family in Germany, now account for 15% of global retail coffee sales, according to Euromonitor.
“Consolidation is the name of the game as the giants try to regain their footing as a specialty roaster,” said Sherri Johns, president and managing director of WholeCup Consulting in Portland.
Dave Burwick, Peet’s chief executive officer told the New York Times that Peet’s was enticed by Stumptown’s cold-brewed coffee, which the Times called “the latest craze in a craze-driven business.”
ALSO: See STiR’s coverage of Stumptown’s cold-brew process.
In making the announcement, it was emphasized that little would change at Stumptown.
“We both fit well under a family of coffee brands run independently and treated as separate businesses but with similar values,” Stumptown president Joth Ricci told the New York Times.
“Stumptown’s journey has been about creating a coffee experience that surpasses all expectations,” said Duane Sorenson, founder of Stumptown Coffee Roasters. “I’m excited and confident that Peet’s will continue to support our journey in a way that uniquely reflects who we are.”
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.